As is known, in alpine skiing, the gliding equipment consists principally of an actual board for gliding on which a zone for fitting the binding is normally defined. This zone for fitting the binding receives a safety binding consisting of a toe stop and a heel binding capable of interacting with the toe and the heel of a ski boot, respectively. This zone for fitting the binding is centered with respect to the point for fitting the mid-point of the boot.
Many skis are sharply waisted and are thus relatively narrow in the median zone corresponding to the zone for fitting the binding.
Due to this narrowness, the boot comes into contact with the snow when the ski is sharply tilted during turning stages. To solve this problem, it has been proposed to equip skis with a raising platform on which the two toe-stop and heel-binding parts of the binding are fitted.
Moreover, it is known that the boards have a specific mechanical structure which confers on them certain mechanical properties of rigidity in flexion and in torsion.
In point of fact, when the binding is fitted directly to the board, the assembly formed by the toe stop and the heel binding of the binding enclosing the rigid sole of the boot braces the board by modifying its intrinsic stiffness characteristics.
It is known to place bindings on a raised platform which is itself fixed to the ski. This stacking gives rise to displacements of the rocking and pitching type with respect to the top of the ski, which may adversely affect the effective transmission of forces.
It follows that the behavior of the assembly in flexion and in torsion differs markedly from the theoretical behavior corresponding to the intrinsic qualities of the board alone.
One problem which the invention proposes to solve is that of unbracing the ski, in other words the problem of interference between the rigidity of the binding/boot assembly and the intrinsic rigidity of the board.
Unbracing of this type must allow firm attachment of the boot by means of the binding and thus make it possible to retain, irrespective of the flexion and torsion status of the board, a constant gap between the toe stop and the heel binding of the safety binding.
Moreover, it has been observed that it is essential for the toe stop to allow effective transmission of the forces from the skier's foot to the board for gliding and, more precisely, toward the edges so that the behavior of the ski is efficient and responsive. In other words, it is important for the toe stop to be firmly and directly secured to the board.
Given the different thickness characteristics of the board and the increasingly significant forces exerted in the case of recreational and competitive alpine skiing, it is thus appropriate for the toe stop of the binding to be firmly and deeply anchored in the board for gliding.
The invention thus aims to solve all these problems.